Egg separator



-April 14, 1925.

1,533,377 A. E. BRUFFEE EGG SEPARATOR Filed Dec. 4, 1924 WITNESSINVENTOR Patented Apr. 14,- I925 ARCHER EARL BRULFFE-E, OF PORTLAND,OREGON.

EGG SEPARATOR.

Application filed December 4, 192%. Serial No. 753,818.

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that I, ARCHER EARL Bum"- 'rnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State ofOregon, have invented a new and useful Egg Separator, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in egg separators in which'a tongueis mounted underneath the chute at the lower end of the slot. I

-The objects of my invention are to provide a simple device forpreventing the breaking of weak yolks, and for leading such portionswhich vthreaten to separate back to the main body.

Other objects and advantages are to be found in the construction andarrangement of parts as will be described in the specification andparticularly pointed out in the appended claim. Y

I attain these objects with the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which-- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the entiremechanism;

Fig. 2 is a vertical,longitudinal section through the center line ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section through Fig. 2 along the line 33.

Similar numerals refer to similar throughout the several views.

Egg separators of this type consist essentially of atest cup 1, a chute2 with a slot 3 at the longitudinal center line, a trough 4:

underneath the slot, and a lug or ear 5 by means of which the eggseparator can be tiltably clamped to any suitable stand or support. Theadjusting screwsrti at the upper and lower end of the chute permit anarrowing or widening of the slot 3 according to whether the eggs arestale or fresh.

An egg is broken into the test cup for observation, if bad, it is thrownaway, if

p arts good, the test cup is tilted, and yolk and white are permitted todescend the chute. The yolk slides along the chute into one container,thewhite drops through the slot onto the trough and thence into anothercontainer. Should the yolk unexpectedly break and drop through the slot,the front end of the troughcan be tilted up by depressing the rear end.The trough, with the yolk thus intercepted, is then withdrawn andemptied in the proper container, All

this, however, being prior art, is chiefly recited to introduce myproblem and its solu tion.

This apparatus works tolerably well with strictly fresh eggs where theyolks are comparatively firm, but where storage eggs are used the yolkswill persist in gradually working into the slot and finally disappearingaltogether by the time the end of the slot is reached. Moreover, sincestorage eggs form by far the largest proportion of the broken-egg trade,it is necessary that this defect be eliminated. For this purpose Iattach to the under side of the chute an inclined plane or tongue 7.This tongue begins with a blunt edge 8 at aboutone-half the effectivelength of the slot where the yolk usually starts to squeeze through theslot and thence converges toward the chute, intersecting the lattersubstantially at the lower terminal of the slot. In order to impartrigidity to the tongue I prefer to bend one of the longitudinal edgesupward as at 9 and affix the same to the under side of the chute, butany other equally effective way of holding the. tongue rigidly in placemay be employed. The other longitudinal edge of the tongue shouldpreferably remain unobstructed to facilitate cleaning with a brush. Whennow the yolk begins to squeeze through the slot the solid support of thetongue will quickly be encountered which not only prevents the yolk frombreaking prematurely, but actually returns that portion which threatensseparation to the main body of the yolk. Such attenuated portions of thewhite as may follow the yolk to the end of the slot usually break thereand return over the tongue to the trough and thence to the propercontainer. To permit access to the tongue for cleaning purposes the sidewalls 10 of the egg separator should be cut back as indicated by thenumeral 11 in Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that my objects havebeen accomplished and, though I have shown the preferred form ofconstruction I reserve to myself the right to make minor changesproviding I do not violate the spirit and principle of my invention.

I claim:

Ina device of the character described, the combination of an inclinedchute, having a slot at the longitudinal center line extendthe tonguebeing blunted, one longitudinal edge secured to the chute, the otherlongitudinal edge remaining unobstructed.

Signed by me at Portland, Oregon, this 29th day of November, 192%.

A. E. BRUFFEE.

